Numerous attempts have been made to solve the problems of maintaining individual seed identity and ensuring the position of individual seeds within a planter so as to eliminate planting errors and interpose reliability and predictability into the seed dispensing and planting process while maintaining seed identity and a map of the planted seeds. Traditional planters plant seeds from batches and are not ideal for fields where it is necessary to plant many types of seeds within a row or set of rows or where it's desirable to control planting order/arrangement within the plot and preserve individual seed identity. For example, in research fields for hybrid seed, inbred seed, and the like, different varieties or types of seed are planted in short parallel rows. Research fields are often planted by hand and require many hours of labor. Disadvantages of this method of planting are lower germination (hand planting vs. mechanical planting), high labor, less efficient field space utilization, and lack of a robust tracking mechanism for planted seeds.
As previously mentioned, conventional planting generally involves row crop planters, grain drills, or air seeders which plant seeds in batches. None of these methods, though, solve the problem confronted in planting research fields where it is important, and necessary, to plan and control planting arrangement as well as correlate information known about the seed to the planted seed or the resultant plant to the seed. Some conventional seed planter systems have a mechanical seed meter, such as a seed plate meter, finger pickup meter and brush meters that sorts a single seed from a bulk seed supply into a seed cell where it is released over a discharge area. These conventional systems do not ensure that only one seed is released over a discharge area at the desired spacing. Further, these systems are not configured to control planting arrangement of each respective seed relative to another and the desired planted position within a plot. Other attempts to solve the problem have focused on singulating the seeds in the field or during the planting process. Some attempts have involved pre-singulating the seed in the laboratory, then recombining the seed in an envelope, and delivering the seed to the field where it is again singulated. Each of these attempts have failed to produce an efficient and reliable process for maintaining individual seed identity and ensure the position of individual seeds within a planter, and therefore in the ground when planted.
Still some systems exist wherein the seed is pre-singulated and then recombined with other seeds of a certain subgroup upon the occurrence of the planting process. These systems, however, do not allow the exact post-planting location of a single seed to be determined; rather, they can only determine the location of subgroups in a field. Furthermore, these types of systems experience a lag in delivering seed from the position at which the singulated seed is loaded into the seed intake of the planter.
In one aspect of the present invention, seed is singulated and arranged within a plurality of wells in a seed carrier according to information associated with or known about the seed and a desired seed planting arrangement.
Thus, it comes as a further object, feature and advantage of the present invention to provide an apparatus, method and system whereby some information known about the seed is used to populate the seed carrier commensurate with a desired seed planting arrangement to provide a field layout of the position of each seed planted in the field by referencing the seed carrier.
In another aspect of the present invention, seed is dispensed from the seed carrier and provided at the seed planting unit for planting commensurate with the desired seed planting arrangement and in accordance with the field layout. Management of seed movement through and position within the planting unit is accomplished in an accurate and precise manner by limiting the travel distance and time for seed movement and planting upon receipt of planting instructions.
Thus, it comes as still a further object, feature and advantage of the present invention to provide an apparatus, method and system whereby seed position and movement is managed to ensure accurate and precise planting of individual seed upon receipt of some planting instruction by staging seed in one or more staging assemblies proximate the planting unit after being dispensed from the seed carrier.
In a further aspect of the present invention, planted seed position and the resulting plant is correlated with the seed's previous position within the seed carrier and any information known and associated with the seed and used to create the desired seed planting arrangement.
Thus, it comes as another object, feature and advantage of the present invention to provide an apparatus, method and system whereby the relationship between the seed's position within the seed carrier and planting position within the field are preserved to accurately and precisely correlate information about the resultant plant with the seed planting arrangement within the seed carrier and any information relied upon to configure seed within the seed carrier according to some desired seed planting arrangement.